La Selección (national team), also known as the Albicelestes, has appeared in five World Cup finals, including the first final in 1930, which they lost 4–2 to Uruguay. Argentina won in their next final appearance in 1978, beating the Netherlands at extra time, 3–1. Argentina, led by Diego Maradona won again in 1986, a 3–2 victory over West Germany. They again made the World Cup finals in 1990, and lost 1–0 to West Germany following a controversial penalty call in the 87th minute. Argentina, led by Lionel Messi made their fifth appearance in a World Cup final in 2014, again losing to Germany, 1–0 during extra-time. Argentina's World Cup winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, and Carlos Bilardo in 1986.

Argentina, Brazil, Germany[note 2] and France are the only national teams that have won the three most important men's titles recognized by FIFA: the World Cup, the Confederations Cup, and the Olympic tournament. They have also won their respective continental championship (Copa América for Argentina and Brazil, and UEFA European Championship for Germany and France).[4][5]

Argentina is known for having rivalries with Brazil, Uruguay, England and Germany due to historic occurrences with one another throughout football history.[6][7]

History

The first match ever recorded by Argentina was against Uruguay.[note 1] The game was held in Montevideo on 16 May 1901 and Argentina won 3–2. During the first years of its existence, the Argentina national team only played friendly matches against other South American teams. The reasons for this varied, including long travel times between countries and World War I.[10]

La Selección (national team), also known as the Albicelestes (sky blue and whites), has appeared in five World Cup finals, including the first final in 1930, which they lost, 4–2, to Uruguay. Argentina won in their next final in 1978, beating the Netherlands, 3–1. Argentina, led by Diego Maradona won again in 1986, a 3–2 victory over West Germany.
Their most recent World Cup final was in 2014, which they lost 1–0 to Germany.
Previous to this their last World Cup final was in 1990, which they lost, 1–0, to West Germany by a much disputed penalty. Argentina's World Cup winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, and Carlos Bilardo in 1986.

Team image

Kits and crest

The first jersey worn by Argentina was a white shirt, when the national side officially debuted against Uruguay in 1902.[13] In September 1908, Argentina wore the white and light blue in vertical stripes jersey for the first time.[14] That kit would become the official kit since then. The away kits usually have been in dark blue tones, varying the colors of shorts and socks.

Kit suppliers

Managers

The first Argentina national team manager was Ángel Vázquez, appointed in 1924. Guillermo Stábile is the manager with the most matches coaching the team (127).[23] Here is the complete list of managers:[24][25][26]

Rivalries

Brazil

Argentina have a long and fierce rivalry with their South American neighbours.[45]

England

With a rivalry stemming from the 1966 World Cup and intensified by the Falklands War of 1982, Argentina and England have had numerous confrontations in World Cup tournaments. Among them was the quarter-final match in 1986, where Diego Maradona scored two goals against England. The first was a handball, but was ruled legal by the referee. The second, scored minutes later, saw Maradona passing five England outfield players before scoring, and is often described as one of the greatest goals in football history.

The nations were paired together in the Round of 16 at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, won by Argentina on penalties, and again at the group stage in 2002, England winning 1–0 through a penalty by David Beckham who had been sent off in the tie four years earlier.

Uruguay

Argentina and Uruguay hold the record for most international matches played between two countries.[1] The two teams have faced each other 198 times since 1901. The first match between Argentina and Uruguay was also the first official international match to be played outside the United Kingdom.[note 4]

Nigeria

A minor rivalry developed from the 1990s between Argentina and Nigeria, based not on geographical proximity, long-term battles for honours or factors outside football, but due to the frequency of significant matches between them.[46][47][48][49][50][51] This has included five World Cup group games, all won by Argentina by a single goal margin: 2–1 in 1994, 1–0 in 2002, 1–0 in 2010, 3–2 in 2014 and 2–1 in 2018. The fixture is the most common in the competition's history involving an African nation,[52] and has occurred in five of the six tournaments for which Nigeria has qualified. The sides also met in the 1995 King Fahd Cup (the predecessor to the Confederations Cup) as champions of their respective continents, drawing 0–0. Below full international level, their Olympic teams also faced off in the gold medal match in 1996 (3–2 to Nigeria), and 2008 (1–0 to Argentina). The final of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was also played between them; both Argentina goals in their 2–1 win were scored by Lionel Messi, who would go on to find the net for the senior team in the 2014[53] and 2018[54] World Cup fixtures.

The sense of rivalry is more keenly felt on the Nigerian side, as Argentina have won almost all of their encounters and have more important traditional opponents to concentrate on, in contrast to the West Africans who remain keen to finally overcome a more illustrious foe.[47]

See also

Notes

^ abSome versions state that the team that faced Argentina was Albion F.C. based on the initial line-up had nine players from that club. In fact, it was the first match disputed by an Uruguayan national team.[8][9]

^Although Canada and the United States played two internationals in 1885 and 1886, neither match is considered official; Canada did not play an official international until 1904 and the USA did not play one until 1916.

External links

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